Your time is up
by AkatsukiNoZare
Summary: Iwaizumi is an assassin working under his father, and one day he gets a new, unpleasant mission. He has to choose will he be loyal to his remaining family or his best friend.
1. Chapter 1

Iwaizumi walked nervously towards the door of his father's office, not really knowing why he was there. His father – in other words his boss – told him to come to his office to get a new mission. Usually he just sends the instructions through the other assassins. Now he wanted to talk to his son privately for some reason. That made Iwaizumi's hands tingle unpleasantly and the hallway seem more threatening than usual. He wasn't afraid of his job, he had done it for over a year already, but he didn't like is father, who was a small, yet ominous looking man. He got to stay away from him for 19 years, but when his mother died almost two years ago, his father took control. Iwaizumi let that happen because he wanted to trust his father for once and didn't know what else to do. And now he was an assassin because of his credulousness and weakness.

21-year-old young man opened the office's door slowly after knocking three times, and stepped into a shady, small room. The lights were dimmed and it took a while to get used to the darkness, but when Iwaizumi noticed his father at the corner of the room, sitting behind a huge table, he immediately bowed a little. "Hajime", his father said slowly, chuckling quietly. "You really came. I was afraid that you wouldn't. Please, sit down." Iwaizumi crossed the room letting his guards down slightly. This was his father, after all. It wasn't necessary to be cautious of him. "I heard you did a good job with your last mission", his father said when Iwaizumi had sat down. "You are improving. Actually I'm proud of you. You are the youngest of us, yet one of the bests." Iwaizumi nodded to accept the praise. He was surprised but didn't show it – he didn't assume to be praised, and felt content, yet slightly uneasy. His father observed him with his sharp eyes and leaned back on his chair. "I have a new mission for you. It's top secret, pretty unpleasant, but unavoidable." He took a bunch of paper from the under of his desk, and the atmosphere around them changed. For a while they had been the father and his son, but now they were the boss and his employee again, causing Iwaizumi to tense a bit. "It's quite occupied, too. The details are in the papers." Iwaizumi nodded again, took the papers and stood up. He bowed quickly and walked to the door while leafing through the papers. He had a month time, but the place wasn't far away from here. He didn't find any reasons for assassination, but that was typical. He reached for the door handle turning the last page around to see who his target was, and that was the moment he totally froze. The scan of passport, the address, the picture… Every single one of them were awfully familiar.

His next target was Oikawa Tooru.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Iwaizumi threw the papers in the corner of his hallway and kicked the shoes off his feet. A box of sweets had appeared on his table while he was gone, like almost every Monday, but Iwaizumi left them there. He could barely manage to keep himself in one piece while the way home, but now he felt like he was breaking. Of all the people in this country, _in this world_ , he had to kill Oikawa, his friend since childhood, the one he texted with every single day? Why did he accept it? He could just have turned around and told that he couldn't accept this mission. It was acceptable to do that, assassins have the right to disclaim the job offered to them if the target was their acquaintance. But the way his father looked at him… He wouldn't have approved that. After all, Iwaizumi was the boss's son. He had to put up with this, he had to kill his emotions. He didn't have the way out of this anymore. He knew what would happen if he'd fail, give up or warn Oikawa – they would be both dead in instant. _But how could he?_ Iwaizumi collapsed to the couch, took a deep breath and just stayed still for a while. The sound of his ringtone made him open his eyes, and he reached to get his phone only to see that the call was from Oikawa. _Speak of the devil_ , Iwaizumi thought and left the phone on the table. The ringing didn't stop, but ignoring it was the best Iwaizumi could do. He couldn't talk with Oikawa on the phone right now. He stood up and walked to the kitchen only to point out he wasn't hungry and trudged back to the living room. He grabbed his phone which had stopped ringing and scuffled to his bedroom. His mind was going blank of the overwhelming thoughts and he fell into his bed. What the hell should he do? With slightly trembling hands he unlocked his phone. Oikawa had spammed him with texts, clearly upset about that ignoring earlier.

06:12pm **Oikawa:** _U didn't answer me :'(_

06:18pm **Oikawa:** _Iwa-chan, where are u?_

06:21pm **Oikawa:** _Still at work?_

06:29pm **Oikawa:** _You said you will be home at 6!_

A slight smile was formed to Iwaizumi's face while he scrolled through the texts. The smile was faded in instant by the aching feeling in his chest, which made him feel like he was drowning. He had to choose. Loyalty to the friend or to the family and work. He was finally safe. Even if his job wasn't the safest possible, he had one, and that was the top priority. His mother was unemployed and didn't have money for her hospital bills. That's why she was dead now. Iwaizumi needed money, needed his remaining family, needed the place where he belongs. He had to do this.

07:34pm **Hajime:** _Stop that spamming, Shittykawa. It's irritating._

07:34pm **Oikawa:** _Iwa-chan! How was work?_

07:35pm **Hajime:** _Usual. It was a busy day, I had to stay for a while longer._

07:35pm **Oikawa:** _That's the third time this week! And it's Friday!_

07:37pm **Hajime:** _That's just how life works, stupid_.

07:37pm **Hajime:** _…Anyway, was your day fine? Anything happened?_

07:37pm **Oikawa:** _Awww Iwa-chan, are you worrying about me?_

07:39pm **Hajime:** _Shut up. I was just asking._

07:39pm **Oikawa:** _My day was totally fine, I was chosen to give a presentation of the planets of our solar system. Isn't that awesome? They said my last presentation about space was so good that they want me to give another one!_

Right. Oikawa was student in university, while Iwaizumi was 'working in convenience store'. Of course Oikawa didn't know the truth, no one knew. They lived nearby each other, but rarely got time to visit. Iwaizumi furrowed a bit and hold his breath while typing the next message.

07:40pm **Hajime:** _So your week has been like all the others? You haven't done anything stupid?_

07:40pm **Oikawa:** _So mean, Iwa-chan! I don't do stupid things._

07:40pm **Hajime:** _You haven't given anyone a reason to hate you?_

07:41pm **Oikawa:** _As if someone could hate me ^w^ But no, I haven't. What's with you today? Did you eat something strange?_

07:41pm **Hajime:** _You never stop being narcissistic, do you, Shittykawa._

07:41pm **Oikawa:** _Mean!_

Iwaizumi put the phone down for a while. Who in the world would want Oikawa to be assassinated? He stayed still for a moment and opened the messenger again.

07:50pm **Hajime:** _Hey, what's your schedule next week? We have a renovation in our apartment building, and it's quite noisy. Can I stay at your house for a while?_

07:51pm **Oikawa:** _OMG of course, Iwa-chan! My schedule is same as always, but you can stay the days too if you want ~ Unless you need me to be by your side all the time ;)_

07:51pm **Hajime:** _Idiot. But thanks, I'll be there in two hours?_

07:51pm **Oikawa:** _Yup ^^_

 _Step one completed,_ Iwaizumi thought with a sigh. His face was burning red, he knew it. When was the last time he stayed overnight at Oikawa's...? Ten years ago, when they were still kids, maybe? God, he missed the time when he thought of Oikawa as just a friend…

 _Stop,_ he demanded himself. _You're making this worse._ He stood up and started packing his things. He had to go through with this and find a plan to complete the mission.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Iwa-chaaaan!" Oikawa hugged his friend the moment he saw him. Iwaizumi sneered and put his bags down.

"Glad to see you again. Where I can put these?" he asked in reference to three sport bags stuffed full of clothes and other goods. He wanted to avoid borrowing Oikawa's clothes, although they were quite the right size.

Oikawa chuckled and waved his hand blithely. "Just put them where you want. Feel at ease." Iwaizumi nodded in relief. Luckily Oikawa was a really placid person, so he didn't need to be tense around him. The bad thing was that they knew each other well. Iwaizumi knew that the situation hasn't changed over these two years they had been apart. He could instantly tell that Oikawa was pretty nervous, the taller boy was snapping his fingers pretending to croon a song while doing it, while in reality he just needed to do something with his hands to relieve the stress. His shoulders were a bit tense and there was a partly fake smile on his face. Iwaizumi sneered quietly and followed his friend to the kitchen after leaving the bags in the living room. "Do you want something to eat?" Oikawa asked and turned to glare at Iwaizumi with the usual little pout on his face. "It's pretty late already, but if you are hungry I can make you something. I'm really good at cooking, you know", he laughed when he saw Iwaizumi's suspicious expression. The shorter brunet shrugged his shoulders indecisively.

"I ate at home. I'm not hungry at all", he said. "Do I sleep in couch?" he then asked tilting his head a bit. Oikawa looked pensive and then grinned making shivers go down Iwaizumi's spine. Upcoming: one of the idiot ideas of Oikawa Tooru.

"Hey, Iwa-chan?"

"Yea?"

"Do you remember how we used to decide things with rock-paper-scissors?" Grin on his face didn't fade when he leaned closer to Iwaizumi. "The winner gets to sleep in the bed, loser in the couch."

"Are you serious?" Iwaizumi sighed, feeling amused. "Fine. Be ready to lose."

"Ready then! Rock, paper, scissors! Iwa-chan, you can't change it anymore! Yours was scissors!"

"You really don't know what scissors look like, Shittykawa?"

"Fine, again! Rock, paper, scissors!" Iwaizumi took rock and Oikawa scissors. "Gah! You won, Iwa-chan!"

"Stop yelling, I'm not deaf yet."

"Really? I thought so."

"Shut up."

"Well then, you get the bed", Oikawa sighed leaning back and stretching his arms. "Did you take the bedsheets with you?"

"Yup, don't need your creepy alien printed sheets."

"So mean, Iwa-chan!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

"I'm home!" Iwaizumi put his phone down when he heard Oikawa's cheerful voice from the hallway. Shorter brunet had been trying to form a plan for two days, but nothing came up. He just couldn't think a way to kill Oikawa. He didn't even want to. But he had to. _What kind of assassin you are? Playing rock-paper-scissors with your target?_ he thought with a heavy feeling in his chest.

"How was the day?" Iwaizumi asked and turned his head to see Oikawa. The taller boy threw his jacket to the hallway's door frame and ran across the room jumping to the couch next to Iwaizumi.

"Look", he showed an official looking paper to him. "We got the reviews of the presentations we gave last week, and I got full points! Can you believe it? Our teacher said that I was the only one in that group who got a review this good!" He sounded like a kid who had just got an A from a test, and that made Iwaizumi smile slightly.

"Well, it was related to space so of course you got full points", Iwaizumi mumbled trying to act uninterested. "I would have been disappointed if you didn't." Oikawa continued bragging about the score but his words didn't even reach Iwaizumi's ears. He suddenly felt awful. Oikawa was so smart and inspired, he would have gone far with his career. He was cheerful, popular and always gave his all to the projects and presentations he had to do. Iwaizumi couldn't even think of hurting him. How could he ever complete his mission? He only wanted to protect his friend, but that was impossible now. Once a person get their name to the assassinating list, there was no way out. If Iwaizumi wouldn't do it, someone else would.

"Iwa-chan, are you even listening?" Iwaizumi turned his head and pushed the depressing thoughts away. There was an annoyed pout on Oikawa's face and the taller boy sighed. "So you didn't. This is a huge thing for me, Iwa-chan. If I keep this up, I can still follow my dreams, but if I mess up…"

"You won't mess up", Iwaizumi interrupted his friend. "Sorry I didn't listen. I'm proud of you. You will reach your dreams, I'm sure of it."

Oikawa's cheeks turned visibly red, and for a moment both of them just stayed quiet. "A-anyway, you didn't have work today, Iwa-chan? Or was it a short day?"

"I felt a bit sick so I only worked for few hours", Iwaizumi told without looking Oikawa in the eyes. He was used to lying, but with Oikawa it was difficult.

"Sick? Do you have fever? Does it hurt somewhere?" Oikawa asked with concerned tone in his voice. "You need anything? Pastille? Painkillers? I can get you hot chocolate, if-"

"I said I felt a bit sick, not that I'm dying, stupid", Iwaizumi sighed. "Really, Oikawa, I'm fine. And I know where the medicine cabinet is. I can get what I need myself."

"So cold", Oikawa muttered. "Can we watch a movie, Iwa-chan? I'm bored."

"You've been home for barely twenty minutes and you are already bored?" Iwaizumi uttered a laughter. "You really are impossible, Crappykawa."

"I'm just social, that's it", Oikawa defended himself. "You should be like that too. Although you have a job where you interfere with people all the time, you are so grumpy on your free time."

 _Interfere with people, yeah right._ "As if I could stand to be like you", Iwaizumi sniffed.

"Mean!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Iwa-chaaan, I'm hungry", Oikawa groaned resting his head on other boy's shoulder.

"There's chicken in the oven", Iwaizumi answered being fully comfortable with the closeness of his friend. "I made it today. You can eat it if you want something different from those convenience foods you're always eating."

"In the oven? Isn't it burning?"

"The oven isn't on, stupid."

Oikawa laughed heartwarmingly. "Of course. Thank you, Iwa-chan. You didn't go to work today either?"

"No, I had a day off", Iwaizumi explained. "And no problem. I had to do something, too, since I've been laying around in your house for almost a month."

"Nah, that isn't bothering me at all", Oikawa chuckled. "I'm glad you are here." Iwaizumi sneered and focused on the TV show he was watching, while Oikawa got something to eat. _That was an opportunity,_ a small voice said in his head. Iwaizumi were fully aware of that. It would have been easy to put something poisonous in the chicken. He had been missing chances like this often, sometimes intentionally, sometimes without noticing it. Days had been passing by without Iwaizumi even realizing it. He had only one week time left, but it didn't even cross his mind. He'd gotten carried away, lived with Oikawa like a normal person. He had gotten used to the feeling of waking up at 6am to wish a good day to Oikawa, to the warmth his friend gave to him, to his stupid jokes. For the first time in two years he felt loved – and loved someone himself. Oikawa gave back the light that Iwaizumi had lost when his mother died. He was hopelessly in love with his friend, and was totally fine with it. Fine until he remembered his target. He had to tell him the truth. They would find a way out of this together.

That was what Iwaizumi thought, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Oikawa. He feared the result. And what then? They could just wait for their deaths, because one thing was certain – Iwaizumi couldn't kill his friend. He never could. He was being selfish, protecting his friend like this when he had already killed people dear to others. But he would rather be selfish than hurt his friend, the one he loved.

"Hey, Iwa-chan, how long do you think the renovation lasts?" Oikawa asked stuffing chicken in his mouth. "It's been almost a month. Was it some big reform?"

"Nah, I think it will be done soon", Iwaizumi said quietly. Seven days left.

"Ah, okay", Oikawa mumbled. "Shame. I would want things to stay like this a little longer."

"Me too", Iwaizumi sighed and switched channel. After switching twice more he turned the TV off. He would give _anything_ if thing just stayed like this. Anything if Oikawa could just live happily.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Iwaizumi counted days, hours, even minutes and became more and more nervous. Four and half days left. He thought of every possible situation, but none of them ended happily. He was unable to sleep, wandered around the house in the middle of the night and tried to find an answer. Oikawa was clearly concerned of Iwaizumi's behavior but didn't say anything out of ordinary, just the usual "Try to calm down and sleep more"-type of sentences. Iwaizumi couldn't just calm down. Both of their lives were on line in this, and that was Iwaizumi's fault. He should have disclaimed this job offer. He should have warned Oikawa when they still had time to run away. Now Iwaizumi was certain that at least one of his father's underlings was nearby this house, observing their every move. Iwaizumi hadn't been doubting his job's nature ever before, but now he hated everything about it. It wasn't just Oikawa. Now, when he was in danger himself, he understood how threatening it was. He understood the face his last target made when he was dying, he understood every single word he had been told by the people he had killed. The thing he considered as his job was wrong, no matter the situation. How hadn't he figured that out sooner? Why he was so blinded by his father's priorities?

"Is something wrong?" Iwaizumi flinched when Oikawa's concerned voice spooked him. "You will get wrinkles if you furrow like that." The taller brunet clearly waited for Iwaizumi to reply something, and tilted his head when the other boy stayed quiet. He leaped over the coach seatback and sit down next to Iwaizumi. "Hey, really, are you okay?"

"Just tired", Iwaizumi sighed leaning back a bit.

"Iwa-chan, you really should sleep more", Oikawa scolded him. "And stop being that tense. Is something bothering you?"

"You really don't have to worry, Oikawa", Iwaizumi asserted giving a quick glance to his friend.

"Of course I have to", Oikawa sniffed pretending to be offended. "You are in my house and I care about you. What is wrong? You haven't ever been like this. You can't sleep, you are nervous of everything and don't look at or answer me when I talk to you."

"Sorry", Iwaizumi mumbled and were quiet for a moment. "Have you ever been in a situation where there is no way out?"

"Like in math test?" Oikawa chuckled.

"No", Iwaizumi cut his joke short. Oikawa got serious and leaned back.

"Yea. I'm in one now. I guess my situation isn't that bad, though, it's just that I cannot bring myself to tell something to a specific person", he told. "Why are you asking?"

"That's exactly my state", Iwaizumi admitted eyes twinkling of surprise. "That 'something' must be different, though. Who you have to tell that?"

"…You", Oikawa's answer were almost as quiet as whisper. Iwaizumi couldn't help but to feel surprised.

"What is it then?" he asked with a grin on his stern face. "I'll tell you mine if you do."

"But it's embarrassing! You first!"

"No, I asked first."

"Don't be such a child."

"Which of us is being childish?"

They bursted to laugh, and Iwaizumi felt his nervousness fade away at least a bit. When they were done laughing, Oikawa fell quiet and clearly tried to figure out the way to place his words.

"You know, I've meant to tell you this a long ago, but I never did. I guess it started when we were in high school. No, in elementary school. I don't even know. But when you left after high school, I lost my chance to tell it. But now I can say it… I think – no, I know that I like you. More than as a friend. I love you, Hajime."

Iwaizumi's mind went blank for a moment. Oikawa's words were burning his heart, making his stomach turn. He was so happy and heartbroken at the same time. This made admitting the other thing easier, but the other even harder.

"Wow", was all he could say at first. "I… I love you too, Oikawa, I've loved you for a long time, but…" He buried his face to his hands. "Shit. Shitshitshitshit." He couldn't get his thoughts to the order. He hadn't lost his cool like this ever before, and now he didn't know how to control his emotions.

"Iwa-chan, are you okay?" Oikawa asked carefully and reached his hand towards his friend. The taller boy was shocked of the other brunet's reaction. He feared that he had made a mistake by telling him.

"No", Iwaizumi whispered and slapped Oikawa's hand away. "Shit, Oikawa, you made this even harder." He raised his head and uttered a dry laughter. "I'm supposed to kill you, god damn. I'm supposed to kill you, but now I can't push my feelings away any more!" he suddenly stood up and looked at Oikawa with a frantic face. "I'm an assassin, Oikawa. My current mission is to murder you. That's who I am! I have only four days time before we are both dead!" He was trembling and desperate. "I've been searching for a way to get out, but didn't find one. That's what I meant with situation with no way out. You will be dead in four days and that's completely my fault." Tears were burning in the corners of his eyes, and he turned his head away. He couldn't take this anymore, not like this.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his chin, and before he could react, Oikawa had turned his head towards his and pressed their lips together. Iwaizumi tensed a bit at first, but let himself loosen up and enjoy the warm feeling. For a slight moment he could just forget everything and feel relieved. When Oikawa backed away again, his eyes were full of concern and love. _He's so beautiful,_ Iwaizumi thought before even noticing it.

"I know", Oikawa said carefully. "I know what you are. I didn't know that I was your target, but could have guessed it." Iwaizumi looked at him not believing what he heard. Oikawa knew all this time?

"How?" the brunet asked with a hushed voice, heart still racing from the kiss.

"You leave your documents laying around your house. I just have to check them every time I visit", Oikawa explained acting innocent and smiled a bit. Iwaizumi realized that he was right. How could he have been so careless? He could just thank his luck that it was Oikawa who had found the documents, not anyone else. He would be in jail now otherwise.

"You have visited my apartment once", Iwaizumi said with suspecting face. "How could you…"

"Actually I have visited every week", Oikawa said with a smile on his face. "You gave your spare keys to me, after all. Since you are always at working late on Mondays, I thought I would visit and leave you something sweet every time."

"That's… both cute and creepy. You are like a stalker or something."

"Mean!"

"…So those sweets were from you. And you didn't say anything to me?"

"I thought you would've laughed if I told you that I buy you sweets every Monday", Oikawa laughed uptightly. "And I was nervous. Of what you would do if you found out. After all, those things were top secret or something. I didn't think that you would have hurt me, but I was afraid of your… organization. Shit, I was such a coward. I should have gotten you out of that. Told you to stop. Anything." His eyes were tearing up, and without a second thought Iwaizumi leaned closer and hugged him tightly. Oikawa sobbed and put his head to Iwaizumi's shoulder. "Isn't there any way out? I don't want you to get hurt because of me", he cried.

"That's something I should say", Iwaizumi sighed running his fingers through Oikawa's hair. "I should have told you sooner. Now it's too late."

"No!" Oikawa sniffed and backed away gripping Iwaizumi's shoulders. His eyes were burning of determination. "We will run away. I don't care if it's dangerous. We still have time, don't we?"

"Four days", Iwaizumi said trying to be realistic. "And there are probably other assassins keeping eye on us already."

"We will leave the day after tomorrow", Oikawa said without listening to Iwaizumi. "Really, Iwa-chan, we should at least try! Our lives are in the line." Iwaizumi stayed quiet at first. Oikawa didn't know how unscrupulously the assassin organization could act when they tracked their targets. But he was right, they should at least try. There was nothing to lose anymore.

"Why the day after tomorrow? Sooner would be better", he asked pushing his suspicions away.

"I want to say good bye to Makki and Mattsun. You will too. Even if we survive, we will be gone for long time. You haven't seen them since high school, right? That's one more reason to go visit them! They have missed you so bad, even though they don't show it."

The thought of staying here longer than necessary made Iwaizumi feel uneasy, but he nodded. Of course he had missed his friends too. One day more wouldn't change anything as long as they'll leave in three days. "Fine. We'll visit them tomorrow."

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Makki! Mattsun! Over here", Oikawa called and waved his hand to his friends. Iwaizumi felt a little uncomfortable but was still happy to see his friends after two years. Hanamaki and Matsukawa greeted them with fist dumps and both of them immediately turned their attention to Iwaizumi.

"Good to see you again, Hajime", Makki said with a usual grin on his face. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you after high school and what happened to you mother. You just… disappeared."

"It's called work", Iwaizumi sighed briefly. "Sorry I didn't have time to visit."

"Listen to that, Makki", Mattsun smirked. "Hajime is a responsible member of the society. You should learn from him."

"I work too, idiot."

"Yeah, once in a month as your nephew's nanny."

Makki pouted as demonstration, but concentrated his attention back to Oikawa and Iwaizumi. "So, what's up?" he asked from Iwaizumi. "Do you still play volleyball?"

"Sometimes", Iwaizumi said and shrugged. "Not in a team or anything, but like once in a week."

"So you still have your skills, right?" Mattsun ensured. "Good. What would you guys say if we play a match, two-on-two? We are all four together for once. I'm itching to play." Oikawa glanced Iwaizumi, but the shorter brunet just shrugged again. He was actually pretty excited to play with his former teammates again.

"If it's okay with Oikawa", he said indicating to his friend's knee injury which made him quit volleyball a year ago. Oikawa smiled and waved his hand balmily.

"Aww, I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine", he said breezily. "I can play once in a while." Iwaizumi stared at his friend suspiciously for a moment, but nodded then. After all, they could be dead in a few days if something would go wrong. The injury was the smallest of their concerns.

"Well then, we can play at the beach", Makki suggested. "There aren't much people usually at this hour."

"Yea, it's barely eleven", Mattsun agreed after glancing his phone. "We'll have at least few hours before people start gathering there."

"Let's go then! Who drives?"

"Someone else than Makki, if we want to stay alive."

"You aren't much better, Mattsun."

"Hajime can drive, I don't think Oikawa would be a good choice either."

"Mattsun, mean!"

-.-.-.-.-.-

Iwaizumi hadn't felt this good in ages. The feeling of spiking a ball that Oikawa had tossed was just as incredible as ever, and although receiving hurt some of the scars in his arms, it was still worth it. The weather was perfect, not too cold or too hot, and they played over ten sets – Iwaizumi stopped counting in nine. They took a break in the middle and went to buy something to eat from the kiosk, and then continued playing. The coldly glowing digits in the clock told that it was almost 4pm when they finally left the beach, laughing to each other's jokes and enjoying the feeling of being together again. Even Iwaizumi had forgot his situation with Oikawa for a while. Makki and Mattsun had always had that skill – they made the others around them forget their problems on their own stupid way. But there was always the time to come back to the reality.

"Thank you so much of everything, Mattsun and Makki", Oikawa said with a half fake smile on his face. "You are so damn good friends. I'm glad I met you."

"Where did that come from?" Mattsun laughed and Makki nearly chocked on his drink that he had gotten from the kiosk. "Was your food spoiled? I'm shocked, Makki. Our precious captain can be sweet to the others."

"Mean! I meant what I said."

"Of course we are good friends. Why now, all of sudden? We have been good friends all the time but you haven't said anything", Mattsun said pretending to be miffed. "I guess that's because of the cream puff I gave you. You could just honestly say if you want another one."

"I don't! And Makki ate it anyway. I just thought that it would be good to say that since we aren't meeting each other regularly any more. Who knows, it may take a year or even more before we meet again", Oikawa explained, not looking at his friends. Iwaizumi had tensed a bit, and he hoped that the other two wouldn't question any more. For his relief they just glanced each other and then patted Oikawa's shoulders a little more forcefully than necessary.

"Stop trying to act cool. Seriously, we will be here whenever you need us."

"Oh, to deviate from the topic, how is it going, captain?" Makki suddenly asked and nudged Oikawa's side with his elbow. "Have you told him yet?"

"I was actually wondering when you would bring that up", Oikawa sighed amusedly. "But yep, I told him." He gripped Iwaizumi's waist and pulled the shorter brunet closer before he could resist. "We are a pair now."

"Yosh! I won the bet, Makki", Mattsun announced loudly. "Oikawa is clearly the one topping."

"Snap it out", Iwaizumi sighed and backed off from Oikawa, blushing slightly. "There's no way this guy could order me around. Or what would you say, _Tooru_?" he asked and glanced Oikawa with a wonderful smile on his face, the smile he would show only for Oikawa. If they were going to play this game, he wouldn't lose. The taller brunet was suddenly burning red and quickly covered his face with his hands.

"Damn it, Iwa-chan", he muttered. "Don't be so sudden. You have never called me by my first name before."

"Look how red he is! I won, Mattsun, admit it."

"Don't laugh at me! Iwa-chan, stop looking so victorious! That was embarrassing!"

"It's a tie, Makki, just like with us. They probably switch every time."

"Stop that!"

"Oh no, you made our captain even more red, Mattsun."

Iwaizumi followed the argue of his friends with a slight smile on his face. So, as he could have guessed, Makki and Mattsun were dating, too. Whatever would happen tomorrow, he would miss these two, that was sure.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Iwaizumi couldn't sleep. He had gone the chances of surviving through in his head over and over again, yet he couldn't find a way to get completely out of this situation. They would have to keep hiding from his father's organization for the rest of their lives even if they survived tomorrow. Would Oikawa be okay with that? Of course not, Iwaizumi knew it already. Iwaizumi was fine, he had been hiding from different organizations many times, but Oikawa would have to leave everything behind tomorrow. His university, Makki and Mattsun, his family, his _life_. The norms of assassins echoed in Iwaizumi's mind. If the assassin for any reason warns their target, they both would suffer a death worst possible. Shivers went down Iwaizumi's spine. The organization had every possible weapon in their use. They wouldn't hesitate to torture Oikawa mercilessly if they would get him caught.

He uplifted his head when he heard a quiet sob from living room. He stood up from bed and walked with soft steps to the living room. Oikawa had snuggled in the corner of the couch, his shoulders shaking in time with the quiet, miserable sobs.

"Oikawa", Iwaizumi whispered, his heart breaking. After his little breakdown at the evening Iwaizumi had told him the truth, Oikawa had been acting fearless, always putting a brave smile on his face. Iwaizumi had known that he was just pretending, but the sight of his love being desperate like this made his heart ache. The brunet walked to the coach and sat next to Oikawa, petting his head like he was just a kid.

"It's so difficult", Oikawa sniffed. "Difficult to think of leaving this all. Will we survive, Iwa-chan? Will we be alive after tomorrow?"

"We will", Iwaizumi said softly. "We have to be brave, Oikawa."

"I haven't even told to my parents that we are leaving", Oikawa said with his eyes closed. "What could I even say to them? That their son could die any time soon?" Oikawa started to sound hysteric. "I can't lie to them, Iwa-chan, I just can't. They will be so shocked if I die, if I die and they don't find the cause of death. If they think I made a suicide. They wouldn't understand it, they wouldn't accept it easily. I'm scared that it would make them depressed. I don't want anything to happen to them."

"They will be fine, and so will you", Iwaizumi assured and lifted Oikawa to hold him against his chest. "Everything will be. You have to trust me."

"You know I trust you", Oikawa mumbled. "If you were dishonest, you would have killed me already, Iwa-chan."

"Come", Iwaizumi stood up and lifted Oikawa on his arms. "We can sleep together this night."

Oikawa just nodded and hold his head against his boyfriend's shoulder while Iwaizumi carried him towards the bedroom. "Why didn't you do it? You should have killed me. Then at least you would stay alive."

"Because I love you, dumbass", Iwaizumi answered softly. "I couldn't even hurt you. And thanks to you I have realized how unjustifiable my work is. I would have quit it anyway."

"I love you too", Oikawa sighed briefly, with a slight smile on his face. "I always will, no matter what."

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Two bottles juice, snacks…" Iwaizumi muttered by himself while going through the shelfs. He had woken up early while Oikawa was still asleep, so he had decided to go buy the baits for their trip. Luckily the store wasn't that far away from Oikawa's house. "This should be enough." Iwaizumi walked to the waiting line and took the phone from his pocket. Two new messages.

09:12am **Oikawa:** _Where are you?_

09:14am **Oikawa:** _Iwa-chan?_

09:19am **Hajime:** _Store. I'll buy some baits._

09:20am **Oikawa:** _Will it take long?_

09:21am: **Hajime:** _Don't know, the waiting line is insanely long. Pack everything ready, we'll leave when I come back._

09:21am **Oikawa:** _Okay ^^_

Iwaizumi was about to put the phone back to his pocket when a little _beep_ -sound notified of the new message. Iwaizumi opened the message and his hands froze. It was from his father.

09:22am **Boss:** _Your time is up._

After answering that he still had two days left, Iwaizumi went back to his and Oikawa's conversation and tried to type a message with his fingers stiffed of sudden fear.

09:23am **Hajime:** _Oikawa_

09:23am **Hajime:** _Is everything okay?_

09:24am **Oikawa:** _Yea, why?_

09:24am **Oikawa:** _Oh, wait, someone's at the door, I'll disappear for a moment ~_

09:24am **Hajime:** _Don't open_

09:25am **Hajime:** _Oikawa!_

09:25am **Hajime:** _Do. NOT. Open_.

 _Shit._ Iwaizumi dropped the shoppings right there ignoring the startled faces of the other customers and run out of the shop. _I still had two days. Why now?_ He ran as fast as he could and hoped that he wouldn't be too late. His hopes shattered along with his heart when he saw a pitch-black van in front of Oikawa's house. In the side of the van were his organization's logotype. _Please be still alright._

When Iwaizumi ran through the open door he forgot the first rule of assassins: be cautious of your surroundings. Before he could even realize it, someone had hit the back of his head and everything went black around him.

"Stop! Don't hurt him anymore!" Little by little the noise started to take the form of words in Iwaizumi's mind when his awareness came back. His head hurt, so did his arms which were tied behind his back. He felt someone hitting his face and finally he could open his eyes slightly. The reality hit him like a truck.

"Oh, our sleeping beauty came back to life." He didn't have to turn his head to recognize the voice of Matt, his father's 'right hand' and one of the few assassins Iwaizumi considered to be his friend. "You are really disappointing, Hajime. You would have gone far."

"Don't call me by my first name", Iwaizumi hissed from between his teeth. "You betrayed me."

"Think for a minute and say again: Which of us is the betrayer?" Iwaizumi didn't answer, and after a moment of silence Matt gripped his hair and tugged his head up. "You are really quiet. It's boring our quest." Iwaizumi could feel his heart stop. Oikawa was sitting on the floor opposite him. The taller brunet was trembling in fear, his mouth was covered with a gag and his tied arms were full of cuts, blood making a huge contrast with the pale skin. Next to him stood Iwaizumi's father and another man who was unknown to the brunet.

"Oikawa", Iwaizumi whispered. Matt released his hair and lowered his hands to Iwaizumi's shoulders.

"You really are amusing. What is so perfect about him? You betrayed your family because of that scaredy-cat."

"The organization wasn't ever my family", Iwaizumi hissed angrily. "I still have two days! Let him go! Or are you breaking our contract, father?" he asked with a little challenging tone in his voice. "I haven't betrayed anyone! The ones breaking the rules were you."

"You told, didn't you, Hajime?" His father's voice was low and cold and made Iwaizumi's blood stop flowing. "You warned him. Tobias has kept an eye on you for a week now. You should be grateful we didn't shoot you right away when you left yesterday. I'm really disappointed." He sighed exaggeratingly. "I thought you would remain loyal to me, your father, your only family. But you chose him. And you know the consequences." The man who Iwaizumi believed to be Tobias threw one of Iwaizumi's bags on the floor. His father crouched down and started taking out all the things Iwaizumi had put there – all his weapons and different kind of drugs that were meant to use in assassination. "Which one should we choose?"

"Don't you dare hurt him", Iwaizumi snarled and tried to get himself free. "What has he done anyway? There's no way he had broken any laws or rules!"

"Oh, you ask what?" his father chuckled ominously. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This was just a test for you, Hajime, and you didn't pass it. Or why you think every single one of the experienced assassins have killed their own family? To show their loyalty. This guy here is not that special in any way, so there's no point in keeping him alive." Both Oikawa's and Iwaizumi's eyes expanded in utter shock. Iwaizumi's father walked to his son and squatted in front of him, smiling villainously. "Now, you will have one more chance. Give your friend a quick death and kill him, and you can come back to our organization."

"Never", Iwaizumi spitted out, his whole body trembling in anger. "I would never follow you anymore. You lost the remaining bit of pride you had in my eyes. How dare you make your underlings kill their own family, innocent people? We are supposed to kill the criminals, the ones society wants to be gone! How dare you use your position to needless murders? You don't even make money of that!" He kicked his father's face just as hard as he could while being tied. "You are disgusting."

"You are a stubborn one, aren't you?" his father snorted and touched his cheek which was now red and little swollen. "Fine then. It's time to get this to the end." He walked back to Oikawa taking one of the little drug cans in his way. "We'll start with these."

"Get away from him!" Iwaizumi yelled and would have probably pulled the chair over if Matt wouldn't have held on of it. "Please! Anyone but him!"

"He's annoying", his father muttered while crouching down to Oikawa. "Make him shut up." Matt forcefully put a gag to Iwaizumi, tying it slightly too tight so it hurt Iwaizumi's cheeks. The shorter brunet couldn't do anything but just watch when his father forced Oikawa swallow a handful of different kind of drugs. Tears started to roll from his eyes and he lowered his head. He had promised Oikawa that they would be alright. Now his love would have to put up with torturing and pain, just because Iwaizumi was too confident of his father's actions. The other young man was clearly terrified, but he was too exhausted to defend himself. After the third try Oikawa had to swallow the capsules which made him cough immediately. Iwaizumi's father didn't let him bend his body and forced even more pills down his throat. Iwaizumi could recognize only a few of those capsules: rat poison, cyanide and phosgene. Oikawa coughed and tried to breathe, but his torturer didn't allow that and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.

"How does it feel?" Iwaizumi's father asked with an evil grin on his face. "Does it hurt? More than this?" he cut a deep wound in Oikawa's thigh, making him shriek quietly in pain, still trembling uncontrollably. Iwaizumi couldn't put up with that, and he turned his head away. He wanted to help, wanted to do anything he could to save Oikawa. He hated himself more than anything, he just wanted to die. Breathing was hard for him, and he felt like he was breaking apart. How he could have been so _foolish_ that he thought they would be still safe for two days?

"Isn't that enough? You are wasting expensive materials", Tobias said to his boss with a careful voice.

"You forgot? These two must suffer. It's in the code." _Code, my ass. He enjoys this madness._ "For Hajime, this is the worst thing I could do. Just look at him, shaking and crying like a kid. I have to do this even to my own son as the head of our organization." The way he tried to sound innocent and responsible made Iwaizumi feel sick. "Let's see…" he stood up and forced Oikawa to stand up. The taller brunet barely could stand on his feet, and now Iwaizumi saw the nasty bruises and cuts in his legs. Iwaizumi's father shoved Oikawa in the back and he fell in the front of Iwaizumi. He remained on the ground, coughing and gasping for breath. Iwaizumi's father gripped his hair and pulled his head up, putting a sharp knife on his throat. "Tell me, Hajime, if I'd cut from here -", he slided the knife from the other side of the neck to the other, "to here, would he die instantly?" Even when Matt removed the gag, Iwaizumi couldn't answer. His mind was going blank because of terror, and he could hear Oikawa's heavy, difficult breathing in his ears. What in the world he could do? "Answer me, Hajime!"

"Yes", Iwaizumi whispered. "He would die instantly. Please just do it already. He's suffered enough." His voice was nearly lost, and every word hurt his throat. It was disgusting to beg for his boyfriend's death, but he didn't want Oikawa to suffer any more. "Please. Let him go."

"This is what I was waiting for", his father chuckled and released Oikawa from his grip. The brunet fell on his side and didn't move. His breathing was wheezy and slow, and he didn't even open his eyes. "You are so damn broken. This was pretty amusing. Now, Hajime, I'll leave you a gun with one bullet. You can kill yourself or your friend with it, just as you please. We are done here." After that he released Iwaizumi's arms and left the room with Matt and Thomas, leaving everything shattered around. Iwaizumi wanted to run after them, hurt them in every way possible. But his legs didn't work. He could just stare at Oikawa, who still hadn't opened his eyes. He was still breathing. _There is hope_ , a little voice in Iwaizumi's head yelled. _Call an ambulance!_

Finally Iwaizumi could move his body, and he ran downstairs just as fast as he could with his numb, heavy legs. There was no point in searching for a phone in this house, his father had presumably broken every single one. He stumbled to the front door and almost tripped when he opened the door. Now, when he moved and did something, the panic started to sneak in his mind. He was lucky, the organization's van was gone already and there was a young man walking his dog near the house. The man recognized Iwaizumi instantly and shock could have been seen in his eyes.

"Hey, you there, what's wrong?" the man shouted and started to run towards him. Iwaizumi took two shaky breaths before he could say anything.

"Call an ambulance", he gasped. "Please! My friend is dying!" After that he turned around and ran back to the house. He had to trust that the man would call. He didn't want to leave Oikawa for any longer than necessary.

His boyfriend was still laying on the floor, but he was still breathing. "Oikawa?" Iwaizumi asked, voice scratching his mouth. "Can you still speak?" After few wheezing breaths, Oikawa opened his eyes and looked at Iwaizumi, eyes starting to close again.

"Yea", his voice sounded unnatural, it was too high-pitched but still husky. Iwaizumi rushed to Oikawa and dropped on his knees next to him. He lifted the other boy to his embrace and pushed his face to Oikawa's hair. "You didn't deserve this… I'm so, so sorry", he mumbled, tears still dropping. "Does it hurt? Can I do something?" He wanted to be the strong person he used to be, to find a way to save or at least help Oikawa. But the fear of losing him was too strong, he couldn't help but panic.

"Yeah", Oikawa whispered. "It hurts so bad. It's like my intestine was burning and mind tearing itself apart." He started to tremble again. "It hurts so, so bad. Does it last for long, Iwa-chan?"

"I don't know." Words were like acid for Iwaizumi and he just tried to stay sane for Oikawa. "Hang in there, the help will be here soon."

"No", Oikawa sounded. "I want to stay with you longer." Iwaizumi's heart felt like it was going to explode and he tightened his embrace.

"I'm sorry this happened. I was too confident. We should have left sooner", he whispered, almost starting to cry again.

"Don't blame yourself. I don't regret this." Oikawa's voice was flitting and Iwaizumi barely heard it. "You didn't choose this."

"Just keep your eyes on me", Iwaizumi demanded as softly as he could. "Don't close them."

"But it's dark", Oikawa whispered and made Iwaizumi's heart stop. "It's already getting dark. Iwa-chan, please promise me."

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't kill yourself when I'm gone." Iwaizumi wanted to say something, but he couldn't form the words, and the sound that escaped his lips turned into a sob.

"Stop. You'll be alright."

"Is someone here?" The yell from downstairs made Iwaizumi to turn his head. The paramedics!

"Upstairs!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Did you hear that, Oikawa? The help is here. Please hang in there for a little longer."

"Cold", Oikawa uttered. "Iwa-chan, it's so cold. Please don't leave me."

Iwaizumi couldn't answer. The medical team came to the room and from there everything was like dream. Iwaizumi couldn't speak, couldn't hear the voices around him. He just watched how the paramedics started to revive Oikawa, who had lost consciousness right after he had stopped talking. Iwaizumi could just watch when they took Oikawa away, and he was left all alone. Some of the paramedics asked if he needed help with his wounds, but he refused. They had to concentrate on Oikawa.

After a time that felt like an eternity Iwaizumi regained the awareness of the situation. Oikawa was gone, he probably would die soon if he was still alive. It hurt to leave Oikawa like this, but he probably wouldn't be allowed to stay in the hospital, so he just had to let it go. He had to leave before the police would come. He still had a job to do.

Iwaizumi gathered his things from the floor, took the other two bags and a small first-aid kit and walked to the window. He threw the bags outside, then jumped himself. If the police would talk to him, he would have to explain. That would mean that he would spend his next years in prison. He was ready to face the consequences of his actions, but he wanted to fulfil one more mission before that. The gun his father left was in one of his bags and determination was burning inside him. Oikawa was right, he shouldn't kill himself now. That bullet wouldn't be for him or Oikawa. It would be for his father.


	2. Chapter 2

When the brown, big eyes opened again, Oikawa was faced with a bright, blinding light. He gasped and covered his eyes with his hand, then flinched of the sudden pain in his arm. What happened? Where was he? He heard a sharp breath near him, and suddenly the room was full of noise.

"Doctor? He's awake!" – "Tooru, do you hear me?" – "Oh my god, we thought we lost you." Oikawa blinked few times, trying to get his blurry sight clear. When he finally perceived his surroundings, he realized that the ones talking were his parents. His mother smiled and hugged him, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"You really woke up", she cried. "I'm so glad. Don't ever scare us like that again." Oikawa didn't understand what she was talking about. He didn't feel or remember anything. Was he in the hospital?

"You were unconscious for eight days", his father said with a worried tone in his voice, petting his back with careful strokes. "What in the world happened?" That was the moment when the memories came back to Oikawa's mind. He let out a quiet, panicked squeal and gripped his head with his hands, trying to make himself as small as he could. His breathing quickened and he started trembling, his mind going blank of terror. He remembered the voice of his torturer, the look at Iwaizumi's face and every single word they said. He didn't hear how his parents called for doctor again, shocked of his reaction. Breathing was hard for him, and he tried to forget everything. He demanded himself to calm down, but it didn't work. He felt like he was drowning, like he couldn't breathe even if he tried to.

"Tooru… Tooru, calm down! It's okay, you are safe now." The calm voice felt like it was far away, too far to reach. Then he suddenly could breathe again. He took deep but hasty breaths and his mind started to clear up. The doctor had put an oxygen mask for him. Even when Oikawa could breathe again, he couldn't completely calm himself down. He gripped the mask with his hands and hold it tight towards his face, like he was afraid of it falling off. His eyes were wide open, and his mind was racing. When the fear was finally fading away, the pain came back. His throat was sore and his legs felt like they were burning.

"Hurts…" he whispered. "It hurts." He wanted to get himself together and act like a grown-up man he was, but he felt completely helpless. "Iwa-chan…?"

"May I ask you to leave?" the doctor asked from Mr. and Ms. Oikawa. "He should rest now." After the worried parents left, the man turned back to Oikawa. "Don't think too much. Relax", he recommended. "It helps. Do you feel pain in any part of your body?"

"Legs", Oikawa said huskily. "And throat. And arms, head…" He took a deep breath from the oxygen mask and tried to get his thoughts in order. "Legs. They hurt the worst."

The doctor nodded and started to adjust different kinds of medication devices. "You were really lucky, having a young and athletic body like that. Your physical strength saved you. And the quick action: it would have been too late if the paramedics would have arrived even a few minutes later." Oikawa was still confused of his words. He had fell unconscious at some point, and the memories before that were quite dark. "Don't think about that too much", the doctor said again when he noticed that Oikawa was going everything through in his head. "Your top priority is now recovering. The police will come here later, but I'll turn them back. They can talk to you when you have recovered. Now just try to rest. Here, hold your legs up like this, it should decrease the pain. It would be the best if you wouldn't take any kind of painkillers right now, your system has to empty itself of the drugs. Will you be fine?" Oikawa nodded, because he didn't really care if he felt pain or not. He was still going the incident through in his head, and now he was only worried about Iwaizumi. Was he still alive? Where was he? Questions in his mind made Oikawa feel sleepy, and a little by little his consciousness faded and turned in to a restless, dreamless sleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Holy shit, you look awful." Oikawa was still half asleep when he heard a familiar voice from the door. When he turned his head, he saw Hanamaki and Matsukawa standing on the doorstep. Both of them were holding big plastic bags, and after greeting him they stepped into the room and walked to the bed, sitting down next to it.

"Long time no see", Oikawa sneered and raised his hand a little to greet them. "And I know I look awful, thanks a lot."

"How are you doing?" Mattsun asked. "You really scared us. We just suddenly got a call from your mother, saying that you were in hospital in a critical state. That gave us a heart attack, you know!"

"Sorry, sorry", Oikawa laughed. "I'm better now. I still have to remain here for some time, since I'm almost like an anorectic. I have to gain some weight before they let me go." He didn't mention the panic attacks and other aftermaths that made his days painful and intolerable. He didn't want to remember them.

"Good. The team sent you some gifts", Mattsun told and took a teddy bear out of his plastic bag. "This is from your uni team. They said they miss you." Oikawa took the bear, too stunned to say a word. His former team remembered him even though he only played with them less than a year? He suddenly felt really bad about that he had to quit. He missed volleyball more than anything.

"Aaand this is from Kunimi, Kyou and other kiddos", Makki gave a bag of different kind of sweets and pastries to him. "There is also a collection of their recent games, if you are bored you can watch them. From me and Mattsun you get our presence." Mattsun nudged Makki's shoulder and chuckled.

"Give those cream puffs to him. You can't eat them alone anyway."

"I sure can!"

"You'll never be forgiven by Iwaizumi if you eat his boy's cream puffs."

"Shit, you're right. He would kill me."

"And lastly", Mattsun continued after Makki finally gave the cream puffs to Oikawa, "we have a letter from Iwaizumi. He said you should read it as soon as possible." Without even thinking Oikawa snatched the letter from Mattsun and opened the wrapper with shaky hands. The letter wasn't long and the writing was unclear, but it definitely was Iwaizumi's.

" _Dear Tooru_

 _I don't know if you ever will be reading this, but I sincerenly hope so. I'm sorry about everything and will fix my mistakes. I ask you to stay quiet of what happened. Don't call me, don't even text. You can tell to Makki and Mattsun, but not the police. I'll take care of that when I come back, and quit the assassination organization after this one mission. I'll come back soon. Please be okay._

 _Hajime"_

"He went back there", Oikawa gasped, voice as quiet as the whisper. "Makki, Mattsun, have you hear about him? How did you get this?"

"I got it in the mail", Makki answered. "Breathe, Oikawa. You are trembling again." Oikawa hadn't even recognized that, and he took a few deep breaths to calm himself. His hands were suddenly cold.

"Why in the hell would he do that?" he whispered to himself. "Shit. I need to find him."

"You aren't going anywhere", Makki stated with surprisingly calm voice. "Calm down. What are you even talking about?"

"Oi, Makki, the doctor said we shouldn't ask-"

"I want to know what the fuck is going on!" Makki's voice was now a little bit louder, but he lowered it instantly. "I mean, it seems like Iwaizumi is in danger. Or what do you say, Oikawa? You have never been like this, it's driving me crazy. Is there something you can't tell even for us? I think it's time for you to explain." Oikawa looked at his friend for a while, eyes wide open and unable to answer. Iwaizumi had said that he could tell to Makki and Mattsun. Still, Oikawa was hesitating. He didn't even know if he would be able to talk about that. He had broken down yesterday when police had come talk to him, but now he felt a little bit more confident. He just didn't want to think about it.

"Fine", he sighed eventually. "Just… don't ask anything. I'll try to tell everything." He took a deep, shaky breath and closed his eyes for a slight moment. "Well, first of all, I want you to promise something: You won't blame Iwa-chan about anything I'm about to tell." Makki and Mattsun were clearly confused, but both of them nodded. "Iwa-chan isn't working at the store as he had told you. It's way more complicated. You remember when his mother died? I don't know the details, but his father was then a boss of an assassination organization. Iwa-chan was dragged there, and he became an assassin too. I got to know this by an accident, but Iwa-chan told me the truth himself a week… no, two weeks ago. At the beginning of last month, he told me that they were having a renovation in their apartment, and he wanted to stay at my house for a while. I accepted that, of course." A slight smile appeared on his face when he remembered his excitement. "The truth was that somehow I was his next target. He was supposed to kill me, can you believe that? He had a month time, but at the beginning of the last week nothing had happened. That's when Iwa-chan told the truth to me. We decided to run away, and visited you two to say indirect goodbyes." Oikawa was quiet for a moment, trying to gather his courage and keep his voice low, so anyone else than Makki and Mattsun wouldn't hear him. "I don't know what went wrong. We were supposed to have two days time left. Iwa-chan went to buy some baits for us, and when he was gone, someone knocked the door. There were three men, and they intruded to my house and tied me. One of those men was Iwa-chan's father. When Iwa-chan came back, they knocked him out and tied him too. They must have been insane or something… They told that it was just a way to test Iwaizumi's loyalty, and that I hadn't done anything wrong. They cut us, forced me to swallow so damn many kind of drugs and poisons that I don't even remember how long that lasted. It was horrible, you could never imagine it by this crappy imagery." Oikawa felt like he couldn't breathe anymore, and the last words were just a quiet aspirate. "They wanted us to suffer before we would die." He snatched the oxygen mask from his bed's side and pressed it on his mouth, taking a few hasty breaths. He felt weird. He wanted to continue talking, but it was like his body refused to do that. He closed his eyes and pulled the mask's rubber band over his head so the mask would stay still even when he released his hands. "That was when I lost consciousness. I guess Iwa-chan called help." His voice was unclear from behind the mask, but he knew Makki and Mattsun would hear. Oikawa tried to warm up his hands, but they stayed ice cold. He didn't even glance to his friends, afraid of their reaction. It was quiet for a long time. Oikawa closed his eyes and tried to remember the moment when he found out what Iwaizumi was. He shouldn't say anything right now, Makki and Mattsun just needed a bit time, just like he did.

"Hey, Oikawa, calm down again." It was the first thing they said, and again Oikawa realized that he was shaking. Even that his mind was clear, his body was terrified of talking about the incident. "It's okay. We won't blame Iwaizumi."

"That's the first thing you say?" Oikawa huffed, lowering the oxygen mask to hang on his neck and then flinched of the pain in his legs.

"Well, we promised, after all", Makki said and shrugged. "What else should we say? You just told that you were supposed to be murdered. And that Iwaizumi was supposed to do that. We thought that you were just stupid and took too many painkillers at once or something, but this is something else. So are you saying that he went back to his father? To get revenge? He doesn't know that you are alive, after all."

"That's what I was worried about. He'll get himself killed. I must go there!"

"Hold up. If Iwaizumi is an assassin – or was, if you please – isn't he going to be fine?" Mattsun interrupted. "I guess he was trained for situations like this. At least you wouldn't be any help there. I don't know what kind of organization that is, but judging of what I've now heard, I don't recommend any of us to go near them. The least you, Oikawa. Trust your boyfriend a bit." Oikawa ignored the fact that Mattsun calling Iwaizumi his boyfriend made his cheeks burn and furrowed a bit.

"Mattsun may be right for once", Makki sighed. "Do you even know where that place is? If we can't tell to the police, there's nothing else to do."

"We can't tell", Oikawa admitted. "So am I supposed to just wait?"

"Yes, you are."


	3. Chapter 3

Iwaizumi flinched when a branch grazed his leg. One of the wounds in his right leg was inflamed, but it didn't bother him as long as nothing touched the wound. But at the moments like this the pain was unbearable. He sat down for a moment, taking a deep breath while waiting the ache to stop. Iwaizumi had cleaned and bandaged the wounds, but he knew it wouldn't be enough and was prepared to inflames. How long has it been, eight days? He was nearby his organization's headquarters, but hasn't found a way to get in to his father's office. Actually he had a plan, but he couldn't pull it off because of his leg. He just had to wait a little bit more and hope that the wound would heal.

That was three days ago. The inflame had become even worse, and Iwaizumi knew he shouldn't wait any more. He had to take an incredible risk and act in a little reckless way, but he didn't have time to hover. He threw the bag on his shoulder and carefully walked down the steep hill that led to the main entrance. The guard recognized him immediately.  
"Stop! Who are you and what are you doing here?" the man that Iwaizumi identified as Ryan shouted.  
"You are pretty blind if you don't recognize me yet", Iwaizumi snorted. "You called yourself my friend sometimes." Ryan was quiet for a while, clearly not believing what he saw.  
"Hajime", he gasped. "I was told that you were dead, that your mission failed and the target killed you."  
"So they didn't bother to tell the truth", Iwaizumi sneered and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'm not even surprised anymore." He stepped a little closer Ryan. "I'm not going to glorify this. My mission failed, yes, but that was because I didn't fulfil it myself. I even warned my target. You know what that means. It's true that I'm supposed to be dead, but the ones who tried to kill me were Thomas, Matt and boss. I'm a traitor, if you wish to put it that way." Ryan tensed a bit, but for Iwaizumi's surprise he didn't raise his gun from his waist.  
"So you are telling me that boss lied to us? I mean, that isn't unusual, but he had never before lied of a situation like this", Ryan said. "He actually likes to discredit the traitors."  
"I guess he didn't want to make it look like his own kin betrayed him", Iwaizumi hummed. "Pharisaic."  
"So why are you here?" Ryan asked a little suspicious. "To revenge?"  
"That's right. But don't worry, I've had enough of killing", Iwaizumi assured. That was true, he didn't want to kill anyone anymore. He had thought that he would shoot his father without any regrets, but changed his mind in these eleven days. "I just want answers from my father – and return these drugs and stuff."  
"I'm going to get killed if I let you in, you know that?" Ryan murmured. "But I guess it's worth it. I don't like this place, especially the boss. He is like a dictator. If you can do anything to that, you are free to go. I personally don't mind even if you shoot him."  
"Thanks, I owe you", Iwaizumi thanked and patted Ryan's back. "And you know, if I get caught and you get in trouble, you are free to shoot me. I don't mind that, my life is over anyway." Ryan looked confused but didn't ask anything, just nodded and let Iwaizumi pass him. Iwaizumi was incredibly lucky and he knew that really well. Ryan was a new one here, but the assassins closer to his father were incredibly loyal. They wouldn't let him pass so easily.

As he thought, he was caught and pinned down at the exact moment he stepped to the huge hall known as The center. It was a hangar-looking hall that didn't have almost any furniture. The assassins gathered and spent time here.  
"Hajime?" the assassin that hold him down gasped. "How in the hell are you here? Weren't you supposed to be dead?"  
"I guess so", Iwaizumi hissed from between his teeth, trying to ignore the pain in his leg. "Let go of me. I just want to get some answers from my father."  
"Well, since you are one of us I don't have a reason to keep you down-"  
"He isn't one of us anymore." The deep, threatening voice cut his sentence short. "He's a traitor. Why are you here?"  
"Just came to chat, Matt", Iwaizumi snorted sarcastically. "What do you think? I want answers."  
"There isn't anything we could say to you anymore", Matt stated. "How are you even alive?"  
"That is something I'll tell to my father. Where is he?"  
"Here I am, my dear son." His father had showed up from the throng and stared at him with cold eyes. "Let him get up." The man instantly let Iwaizumi go, and the brunet stood up, keeping his guards up.  
"I'm surprised", his father said slowly. "Come with me. I guess you are here to meet me." Iwaizumi didn't like the sound of his voice, but did he have a choice?  
"Boss, is that wise?" Matt objected. "He's here to kill you."  
"He's not", the short man chuckled. "He can't do that. Not anymore." Iwaizumi squinted and felt like he was being underestimated. He didn't say anything, but Matt was clearly suspicious of the cold flame in his eyes. Iwaizumi lifted his bag from the floor and followed his father with tense, careful steps. When they got to the shady office, his father sat down on his chair and leaned onwards. Iwaizumi didn't sit down and faced his glare with confident eyes.  
"How?" The question was quiet but harsh. Iwaizumi smirked and lift his chin a bit.  
"You made a mistake", he told. "You underestimated me." That was something he had always wanted to say to his father, who seemed to be careful and perfect with his actions. "But that's not important. Tell me, why Oikawa of all the people? I hadn't even talked to him in two years. Why did you choose him?"  
"No, you tell me: Who else?" his father stated a counterargument. "Your mother is dead. You don't have siblings. The only options were your friends. And even I know that Oikawa was special for you." Iwaizumi grinded his teeth and slammed his fists to the table.  
"Don't talk shit with me!" he snarled. "If you knew that, you wouldn't have chosen him. You knew that I wasn't ever going to complete that mission!" His father grinned and leaned back on his chair.  
"That's right", he admitted. "I needed to get rid of you. You were on my way."  
"I knew it", Iwaizumi hissed with disgust. "You are appalling. You could have just shot or banished me. But that wouldn't have been good for your ego, right? What did I do wrong?"  
"You still have kindness in your heart", his father hissed, turning up his nose in disgust. "It isn't needed in this career. You were the heir of this organization, as you know. I would never in my life leave this place to you."  
"That's good. Because I don't want this place, but you will have to abandon this. I told the police about you. They should be here shortly. You will spend the rest of your worthless life in jail." Iwaizumi kept his face emotionless, so the lie wouldn't show that way. He hadn't talked to the police, but this was all he could make up in this short time. For the first time in this conversation Iwaizumi's father didn't remain emotionless. His eyes widened and he straightened himself.  
"You did what? I've put my everything in this place!" His voice was a bit shaky, he was clearly on the edge of snapping. "You will be caught too! Are you some kind of idiot, sneaking yourself like that? You really are stupid, Hajime. We all will get a death penalty of this."  
"You'd have to go to the USA for that", Iwaizumi hummed. "And I don't care anymore. You took everything I had already, remember?" His voice changed to bitter. "All I want is to get this organization to its end. If you think I care about myself, you are wrong."  
"That's why I hate you", his father hissed. "Always putting others first. That's not how assassins work! Do you think I'll let you go?" He stood up and reeled a few steps back to the large, covered button in the wall. "You are wrong. This may be the end for this place, but the cops won't get me!" Iwaizumi's eyes widened when he realized what his father was going to do.  
"Don't press-" he was cut short when his father slammed the button down. Iwaizumi gasped when he heard loud explosions from the center. It was like from some bad action movie, but his father had been insane enough to install a destroying system to the headquarters. The whole place was going to collapse. Iwaizumi run out of the office door leaving his manically laughing father behind.  
"Get out of here!" he shouted to the group of assassins that swarmed in the center. "The whole place is going to blew up!"  
"What the fuck, Hajime?" Matt yelled, ignoring the hysteria that was spreading like a wildfire among the crush. "Are you going to get us all killed?"  
"It was father", Iwaizumi answered. "Now get out of here if you want to stay alive!" All the other assassins were already running towards the exit, but Matt stayed still. The roof was already grumbling, and Iwaizumi saw that the rear room was collapsing.  
"Where is he?" he asked, not letting Iwaizumi past. "Are you going to leave him here?"  
"He chose it himself", Iwaizumi answered, getting more and more nervous as the seconds passed. "Matt, he was the one who did this! Leave him here!"  
"Is that how you speak of your father?" Matt growled and gripped Iwaizumi's shirt sleeves. "You are even worse traitor than I thought! You won't go anywhere!"  
"How ironic that I once considered you as my friend", Iwaizumi hissed and tugged himself from Matt's embrace. "Open your eyes! This place isn't worth dying for."  
"It is for me", Matt stated. "It is everything I have left! You said your everything went along that stupid guy. You can die here with me!"  
"This isn't the end I want", Iwaizumi hissed. "But if it is for you, I can't help." Without giving Matt any time to react he spun around and kicked the other man's head with all he got. Matt fell to the floor, and Iwaizumi started to run towards the door. The grumbling noise was tearing his ears and his leg felt like it was going to fall off, but he ignored the pain as well as he could and didn't stop running. He got out of the door just in time, because he wasn't even ten meters away when the whole entrance collapsed. He quickly glazed behind his back but didn't see anything but dust. He pushed away the guilt he felt of leaving his father and Matt there. It couldn't be helped. He let out a relieved exhale and fell to the ground, turning to lay on his back. The building was still collapsing and the noise filled Iwaizumi's mind, but he only felt the throbbing pain in his leg. Did he knock it somewhere?  
"Hajime!" Ryan's voice made him open his eyes. The other young man stared at him with a relieved expression. "You are safe. Did you get injured? I would have never thought that you'd pull _this_ off."  
"Shut up", Iwaizumi groaned. "I didn't plan this. My father just snapped."  
"The others are gone already. The only ones who really were loyal were the ones who stayed in the building. We don't have to worry about them anymore."  
"That's good", Iwaizumi sighed. "You should go too."  
"But are you okay on your own?" Ryan wondered. "Aren't you going back?"  
"To town? Why would I?"  
"Umm, this is just a rumor I heard, but that guy who you were supposed to kill… He might be alive", Ryan said carefully. "The rumor of that spread among the younger assassins. I don't know if it's true or not." Iwaizumi stared at him like he didn't believe his eyes, ears or even his sensation.  
"Are you serious?" he gasped, a little hope lighting up his heart. "He's alive?"  
"As I said, I don't know for sure", Ryan said, trying to not build up meaningless hopes. "But I can take you there, I have a car. I owe you, after all. You freed me from this hell."  
"Thank you, thank you so much", Iwaizumi breathed out and got up, then reeled back a bit when his leg felt like giving up under him.  
"So you are injured", Ryan stated with concern.  
"It's just an older wound, it inflamed", Iwaizumi told, grinding his teeth. "It's nothing serious."  
"Well, I'll help you anyway", Ryan occurred and let Iwaizumi lean on his shoulder. "Let's go."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Shit", Iwaizumi snapped and closed his phone. "It still doesn't work." He wanted to call Makki or Mattsun, anyone who could know something about Oikawa. Even that he had left a letter to his boyfriend, he never really believed that he was still alive. "Please, let that rumor be true", he whispered to himself. Ryan hadn't said anything for a while, he clearly felt a bit guilty of giving a possibly meaningless hope for him. What would he do if Oikawa was dead after all?  
"Do you remember their numbers?" Ryan asked, keeping his eyes on the road. "You could borrow my phone."  
"Right", Iwaizumi muttered. "I think I remember them. Can I?" When Ryan nodded, Iwaizumi took his phone from the console. He typed Makki's number and pressed the phone to his ear. After three "beeps" the phone was picked up.  
"Hanamaki Takahiro on the phone" an insecure voice answered and Iwaizumi's chest suddenly felt heavy. "Who is there?"  
"Makki, Iwaizumi here", he answered, trying to keep his voice calm. "Can you talk?"  
"Iwaizumi! Holy shit, you don't even know how long we have waited!"  
"Is Oikawa…?"  
"Captain is alive, you idiot", Makki blurted. "Where have you been? He is going crazy out here!" Iwaizumi covered his mouth with his hand, trying to keep the tears away. He was alive. Alive. Oikawa was alive.  
"Hey, are you still there?"  
"Ya, I am", Iwaizumi whispered and jolted onwards on the seat, leaning on his hand. "I'm so glad. I'm so, so glad." His voice was shaky and tearful, but he didn't care.  
"Yea, I know- oh, I guess I should give the phone to captain." Iwaizumi's heart skipped a beat, and the line fell quiet for a slight moment. Then he heard a shaky breath from the other end.  
"Iwa…?"  
"Tooru", Iwaizumi gasped. "Oh my god. You really are alive. You are alive." He heard a nervous, tearful laugh and knew that Oikawa was crying.  
"You are okay", Oikawa cried. "Where are you? I was so damn scared, you idiot! I thought that you… you…" He broke down to tears, and for a while Iwaizumi could only hear sobbing from the other end of the line.  
"Hey… Stop crying."  
"You are crying too, Iwa-chan."  
"No I'm not!" Iwaizumi wiped his tears from his cheeks and sniffed. "Anyway, we are there soon. We can talk then."  
"I can get outside", Oikawa said. "I'm allowed to go for a walk per day. See you at the entrance?"  
"Yup. See you."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"You sure you can walk?"  
"Just come already or I'll go ahead!"  
"Well, I guess I'll follow you." Ryan was clearly uncomfortable, but Iwaizumi couldn't hide his excitement. "You'll trip and fall if you don't have anyone near you."  
"I'm not that helpless", Iwaizumi protested. "Hurry! It's that building!" He ran towards the hospital a few meters ahead of Ryan. His heart was racing and he couldn't think anything else but Oikawa. Even his leg didn't bother him that much right now. His pace got even faster when he saw a familiar silhouette in front of the hospital doors. Oikawa was leaning towards Hanamaki's shoulder, but when he saw Iwaizumi he took a few steps away from Makki. Iwaizumi snatched Oikawa in his embrace and buried his face to taller brunet's neck. Oikawa gripped his shirt like he was afraid of losing Iwaizumi again. The taller brunet was visibly shaking.  
"You are fine", Iwaizumi mumbled. "Thank God. I thought that you…" Oikawa didn't say anything right away, but he broke in to tears.  
"I was scared", he cried. "I thought I lost you. Where were you?" He didn't wait for an answer and pulled a little away from Iwaizumi, going him through with his eyes. "You aren't injured? You went to your father's, right? How in the hell you got out of there in one piece? Don't ever again do anything like that! I was worried." The words weren't louder than a whisper, and tears were streaming down Oikawa's face. For a slight moment Iwaizumi couldn't say anything. He was incredibly happy and a bit sad at the same time. Oikawa was alive, but he wasn't alright. Standing clearly hurt the taller brunette and he was pale and thin.  
"I'm sorry", he whispered. "About everything. You didn't deserve this."  
"Don't", Oikawa put his finger on Iwaizumi lips. "We can talk about that later. What are you going to do now?"  
"Hey, lovebirds, we should get back inside", Mattsun interrupted them with a grin on his face, then turning his gaze to Iwaizumi. "We are happy that you are back, Iwaizumi."


	4. Chapter 4

It was really difficult for Oikawa to go back to his house after he was released from the hospital. Even when Iwaizumi was with him, he froze at the front door and just stared inside the shady house for a moment. He was afraid, it showed from his face, and Iwaizumi noticed it instantly.  
"It's okay", he promised and step in to the hallway, switching the lights on. "No one is here. You can go sit in the couch, I'll get the bags and stuff."  
"No", Oikawa gasped. "I'll stay with you." He didn't want to be alone, not even for a slight moment. The house that had felt safe and warm for these two years he had lived there was now cold and threatening. It was like someone was hiding in that house, like the assassins were back and wanted revenge. Iwaizumi had told him what happened at the headquarters, but that didn't lessen his nervousness.  
"As you wish." Iwaizumi's answer was just a quiet sigh, but he didn't want to argue with Oikawa. Not about this. He understood completely why the other brunet felt that way – he would have been in the same situation if danger wouldn't have been part of his daily life for two years. He felt bad that Oikawa had to fear his own house.  
"…It's not your job to pamper me anyway, Iwa-chan", Oikawa muttered, breaking the silence between them. He felt kind of guilty because Iwaizumi couldn't get a proper job because of him. "I'm not that helpless."  
"I'm your carer, remember?" Iwaizumi sneered. "Of course I have to pamper you." Oikawa had still aftermaths of the poisoning he had gotten from the drugs, so he needed someone to take care of him since his parents worked out of the country. The biggest thing alongside the panic attacks was that his legs sometimes just gave up. They became numb and feeble, to the point he couldn't stand anymore. The seizures usually lasted for few minutes, but that was more than enough – if Oikawa was alone when that happened, it led to a panic attack. The doctor had said that the panic attacks were the most dangerous thing for Oikawa right now, he was so near of breaking apart completely. He got to borrow a wheel chair from the hospital until he would be better – although no one knew if he ever would be. The wheel chair was for the times when Iwaizumi wasn't home or they wanted to go shopping. Oikawa still went to university like nothing had happened, but now Iwaizumi was with him. Iwaizumi wasn't a student, but the principal had given him a special permission to attend the classes as Oikawa's carer. Luckily the police had left them be when they got a new case to investigate. They didn't get anything out of the two boys anyway, since Oikawa was still too unstable to talk about it to strangers and Iwaizumi told that he had hit his head and didn't remember anything. The lucky thing was that Oikawa lived in a rather small city, so the police didn't have time to spend in cases that seemed hopeless. They just assumed that Oikawa and Iwaizumi had taken the drugs themselves. Iwaizumi would have been ready to tell the truth, but Oikawa needed him right now, so he couldn't leave him alone.  
They carried the bags and the wheel chair inside, and after they had put them to their own places, Oikawa collapsed to the coach. His legs were aching and the world was slowly spinning in his head.  
"God, it really feels strange to be here again", he sighed. He was now a little better, the nervousness usually went away in ten minutes, but the tenseness hadn't left his shoulders. "I'm so exhausted. Can you imagine, Iwa-chan? I just walked more that I had in these three weeks altogether!"  
"Stop whining", Iwaizumi snorted. "You should be happy that you can walk. I'll make some food, so rest up a bit."  
"Yea." Oikawa didn't argue, because right now he felt safe. He could just call Iwaizumi if the room started to feel ominous. He didn't want to cling to Iwaizumi, he wanted to live as normally as possible. Otherwise Iwaizumi would get annoyed and leave him.  
"Hey Iwa!" he called out. "I'll go to school tomorrow, right? And you too?"  
"If you feel like it", he heard an answer from the kitchen. "And of course I will come with you."  
"You better wear something stylish", Oikawa teased. "Otherwise you would look like a vagabond. Do you even know how scary you look with your scars?"  
"I'd rather look scary than like an alien, Shittykawa."  
"Mean! Do you even have a formal attire?"  
"Nope, but I guess a blouse and jeans will do. I'm not a student after all. Do you have any tolerable neckties?"  
"You can borrow one for now, but we really should go to buy you some normal clothes."  
"My clothes are normal!"  
Oikawa giggled and closed his eyes for a moment. "Should we go shopping tomorrow after school? We could visit Makki and Mattsun too, they live nearby a local shopping centre. It's been almost a week since I last saw them", he suggested.  
"Fine with me."  
"Is food ready yet?"  
"It's been barely ten minutes, idiot."  
"But I am hungry!"  
"Just deal with it then."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Oikawa took every single opportunity to get Iwaizumi to carry him at school. He didn't have enough strength to go up the stairs, so instead of forcing himself to do so, he asked Iwaizumi to help. The shorter brunet carried him all the way upstairs without a single complaint, ignoring the glazes and stares they got from the other students. Oikawa simply loved to rest on Iwaizumi's back, nuzzling his nose on his boyfriend's neck. He didn't use that chance too often, though, only when he really needed to. He still didn't want to bother Iwaizumi too much, but at the school he wanted to stay close to him. Although Iwaizumi was a little bit shorter than Oikawa, he was way scarier. The other students didn't come to talk to Oikawa as often as before the incident, and Oikawa didn't really know if it was because of Iwaizumi or just because he had just been at the hospital for a long time and others didn't want to seem meddlesome. Iwaizumi didn't mind staying still when Oikawa talked to others, though, he just took the opportunity to look around. The school was really modern and high-class. It was totally a place where Oikawa could enjoy himself.  
"Oikawa-san!" a group of fangirls came to talk to Oikawa, and Iwaizumi took a few steps back. Oikawa glazed his boyfriend quickly, but then gave his attention to the girls.  
"Hey", he greeted with a smile on his face. "It's good to see you again."  
"Are you sure you are okay?" one of the girls, Yuki asked with a worried tone in her voice. "Everyone was so worried. What happened?" Iwaizumi tensed a bit, and so did Oikawa. It would be rude to just refuse of telling, but what else Oikawa could do without a risk of losing his calm? Luckily the other girls saved the situation.  
"Yuki, that's a rude thing to ask!" the black-haired girl, Shelia scolded. "It's personal! Hope it didn't bother you, Oikawa-san. You don't have to tell if you don't want to."  
"Thank you, Shelia", Oikawa thanked. "It's okay, Yuki, but I would rather avoid that question."  
"I'm sorry!" Yuki gasped and bowed.  
"I said it's okay", Oikawa reassured. "And to your other question, I'm fine, thanks. It's cute that you all are brave enough to come talk to me when my carer looks like that", he teasingly beckoned towards Iwaizumi. "He looks scary, but is actually pretty nice. He's my friend from high school."  
"You have a carer?"  
"Yea, I still have troubles with stairs and stuff like that", Oikawa explained. "It's okay though. He's so strong that he can carry me like it's nothing."  
Iwaizumi listened to their conversation but didn't look at them. He cursed Oikawa in his mind. Why he had to turn the attention to Iwaizumi and even praise him like that? He sounded like a fanboy himself. "Oi, Tooru, you'll be late from class", he called out with a bored expression on his face.  
"Oh, right. See you later, ladies." Oikawa flashed his usual peace sign and hurried to Iwaizumi. They left to the next class side by side.  
In the middle of the class Iwaizumi got a call from Oikawa's mother. He assumed it to be one of the usual calls, where she just asked how Oikawa was doing. Still he didn't want to ignore the call, so he went outside the classroom, leaving Oikawa to listen the lesson. Oikawa tried to concentrate to what the lecturer was saying, but a little feeling of nervousness started to throb in the back of his head. He had been in this classroom for countless times and knew almost every student here. Nonetheless he felt threatened and unsafe when Iwaizumi wasn't by his side. He was nowadays scared of many things unrelated to each other – dark, small rooms; huge, echoing halls; muscular, scarred men besides Iwaizumi; and most of all being without Iwaizumi. He took a deep breath and tried to tell himself that he was being too clingy, that he shouldn't be this childish. The speaker's voice started to become unclear in his ears, and he could hear his own breathing getting faster and more difficult. _It's okay_ , he assured to himself. _Nothing's going to happen._  
"Is everything okay?" He flinched when the student named Arya, who sat next to him, asked.  
"Yea", he managed to answer. "Everything's completely fine." On that moment Iwaizumi came back to class, and when he saw how tense Oikawa was, he hurried back to his side.  
"Hey now, calm down", he whispered and rubbed his hand on circles on Oikawa's back. "This room is completely safe."  
"I know that", Oikawa murmured, leaning on his hands and trying to catch his breath again. "It's completely safe." Iwaizumi glazed to Arya, who looked worried and raised her brows, asking him what was wrong. _It's fine, nothing serious,_ Iwaizumi mouthed to her and kept petting Oikawa's back. Oikawa had now calmed down a bit and only felt frustrated. How was he supposed to live a normal life if he was this unstable?  
"Fuck", Oikawa snarled when they got out of the class. "I'm so pathetic."  
"It's okay", Iwaizumi assured. "No one assumes you to be completely fine yet. Just don't overthink it."  
"How am I supposed to not overthink it?" Oikawa murmured. "I'm so helpless. How am I supposed to live a normal life anyway?"  
"You'll be able to do that in due course", Iwaizumi said. The silence fell between them while they went down the stairway. Oikawa was so frustrated that he didn't recognize the odd feeling in his legs, the same he was now used to feel a few times a day. First the sense of touch vanished, and a slight moment after that Oikawa realized something was wrong.  
"Shit", he whispered to himself. "Not now." But he couldn't help it. "Iwa-" he gasped when he stepped to the next step and his leg gave up. He fell onwards, but Iwaizumi gripped the back of his shirt and didn't let him fall, shoving the other students out of the way. He quickly grabbed Oikawa's waist before the other brunet would collapse, and pulled him back, letting him sit down on the stair step.  
"You okay?" Iwaizumi asked startled. "For real, Oikawa, you should say earlier-" He left his sentence unfinished when he saw Oikawa's expression. His hands were shaking and he clearly was about to cry.  
"I didn't… recognize it", he muttered and clenched his fists. "Sorry."  
"It's nothing", Iwaizumi sighed and glazed the other students who had left to stare them. "What are you all looking at? It's none of your business." With that, the group quickly went on, and soon the stairway was empty.  
"We should go too", Iwaizumi said softly and crouched down. "Get on." Oikawa reached to Iwaizumi's shoulders and gripped his hands around him. The shorter brunet grabbed his legs to keep him from falling, stood up and walked the remaining stairs down.  
"I'm sorry, Iwa-chan", Oikawa muttered. "I should have said earlier, but I just…"  
"It's okay as I said already", Iwaizumi sighed. "Look, Tooru, you don't have to be perfect. If you need help, just ask. I don't mind taking care of you, and you shouldn't feel self-pity of that. You are a convalescent, after all. No one can understand the pain and fear you feel, not even me. You have the right to feel weak. It's alright and part of the recovering. Just don't blame yourself, okay?" Oikawa pushed his face against Iwaizumi's neck, and he could feel how the tears started streaming.  
"Okay."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Try this one." Oikawa took a classy blouse from the shelf and gave it to Iwaizumi. "It's way better than your old one. Blue suits you better than grey."  
"Fine, I'll try it", Iwaizumi sighed. "But I need a bigger size. I have wide shoulders, ya know?"  
For a change, Oikawa's fashion sense was right. Blue really did suit Iwaizumi, so after finding a tie that matched the blouse they paid and left the shop with three different shirts, a tie and a pair of jeans in their bag.  
"We should go eat something", Oikawa suggested. "Makki and Mattsun will come here in ten minutes. We have a little time left."  
They found a little café and ordered pieces of cake and coffees. When Iwaizumi was about to sit down, he saw a familiar man a few tables afar of them. Although his hair was cut and clothes were way more fashionable than before, Iwaizumi would spot Thomas from anywhere. Thomas raised is head and his eyes met Iwaizumi's.  
"Fuck", Iwaizumi muttered, when the man stood up. "We are leaving." He grabbed Oikawa's wrist and dragged him out of the café.  
"What the fuck, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa huffed fretfully. "We didn't even-"  
"I know that pretty damn well", Iwaizumi snarled and glazed behind his back. Thomas was following them. "Just don't ask." He couldn't let Oikawa see Thomas. He was sure that they would recognize each other, and that wouldn't be good.  
"Hajime! Wait!" Oikawa's legs froze and Iwaizumi knew the game was lost when they heard the voice behind them. At that moment Iwaizumi saw Makki and Mattsun ahead of them, and he quickly patted Oikawa's shoulder.  
"Go to them", he whispered. "I'll be right there." He didn't have to repeat himself, and Oikawa sprinted towards his friends, clearly wanting to get as far away from the voice as he could. Thomas ran to Iwaizumi and tried to catch his breath for a moment.  
"Finally", he sighed. "I've been searching for you for so long."  
"For what?" Iwaizumi snapped and beckoned to Oikawa, who had now reached Makki and Mattsun. "To freak the crap out of him? He remembers your voice, Thomas, even that you didn't talk much."  
"Shit", Thomas muttered, scratching his head. "I came to say sorry, but I guess it isn't that easy."  
"You are naïve if you thought it would be", Iwaizumi hissed. "He's afraid of almost everything right now because of what you did."  
"I did my job and you know that", Thomas defended himself. "I don't mean that I'm innocent. What I mean is that you don't have to fear me anymore, because hurting you isn't my job anymore."  
"Quit that bullshit", Iwaizumi growled, voice getting louder. Luckily there weren't that many others in the mall, otherwise he would probably have caused trouble. "Of course you did your job. Of course I don't have to fear you, I've never had. The issue here is that you, Father and Matt ruined Tooru's life. I don't know if he will ever recover, and now you are asking for apology? Yeah right. I know that you aren't an assassin anymore, otherwise you would have died alongside Matt and Father. Still, I can never forgive you. Neither myself. Hurting others is a thing that you can't just let go with an apology", Iwaizumi lowered his voice again. "We have killed people. We can never be forgiven of that. Just deal with it and leave us alone!" He turned around and hurried back to Oikawa, leaving Thomas behind.  
"Iwa!" Oikawa gasped. "That… That guy…"  
"Yea, it's him", Iwaizumi muttered and turned Oikawa around, facing away from Thomas, who was still standing still. "Don't mind him. Makki, Mattsun, I couldn't have asked for better timing."  
"I won't even ask", Matsukawa huffed. "We couldn't calm the captain down no matter what we did. Is that man really one of them?"  
"Breathe, Tooru", Iwaizumi murmured, holding trembling Oikawa against his chest. "Yep, he is", he answered to Mattsun. "Not anymore, though. He's basically the same as me." He lowered his voice a bit, talking to Oikawa again. "He's not a threat anymore. We are okay."  
"Should we go play volleyball?" Makki suggested carefully. "It always helps."  
"That's a good idea. Can you?" Iwaizumi asked Oikawa. The taller brunet nodded slightly.  
"Yea, I'm better now", he muttered. "But Iwa-chan?"  
"What?"  
"My legs are becoming numb again." Iwaizumi sighed and let Oikawa get on his back, and the four left the mall, heading to the beach once again. Oikawa pushed his face against Iwaizumi's neck again, hiding his face from others. In fact, his legs were completely alright. He just couldn't move them, the fear hadn't faded from his mind yet. Every single moment of the incident was now crystal clear in his mind, not fading away no matter how hard he tried to forget. The only thing that kept him from panicking were his friends. Iwaizumi knew that, he felt the tears dropping on his neck. He blamed himself for letting this situation happen. He had told Oikawa that they were safe, that all the torturers were gone, and now one of them showed up from nowhere. Iwaizumi kept talking to Makki and Mattsun like everything was fine, but his mind was going crazy. He was afraid that Oikawa was now a step closer of shattering into little pieces that could never be repaired.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hanamaki was right once again. Playing really calmed Oikawa down, and after two sets they were laughing like nothing had happened. Even when Makki and Mattsun seemed tired, they kept playing because Oikawa wanted 'just one set more'. Iwaizumi could easily relate to the way the two young men felt. Oikawa had taken care of them for their three years of high school. Even when he was annoying, he always thought of his team and made sure no one carried the burden of the losses by themselves – except for himself. He was a true captain, and now he needed someone to take care of him. It was time to pay the depts.  
They waved goodbyes to each other, and Iwaizumi mouthed a 'thank you' to them when Oikawa didn't notice. Makki grinned and put his thumbs up, and Mattsun mouthed 'no problem, ace'. Iwaizumi just couldn't express how much he loved these two meme kings.  
Oikawa was jumping a little ahead of him, whistling his favorite song quietly. Iwaizumi smiled softly and hurried next to him. He was so glad that Oikawa seemed happy and calm. They walked in silence, the only thing echoing around them being Oikawa's whistling.  
"You know, Iwa-chan", the brunet suddenly said. "At moments like these, I feel like I can soon get back on my feet."  
"You will, Tooru", Iwaizumi hummed, feeling a warm emotion lighting up in his chest. "I'm glad you feel that way too."  
"I may break down every now and then, but I feel like I'm starting to get a control of it. I know that just a little while ago I whined how pathetic I am, but now I feel good. Seeing Thomas was the worst thing I could've thought of, so if I survived that, I guess I'll be fine." He laughed a little nervously. "If you stay with me, I think I can get rid of the panic attacks in due course."  
"Of course I stay with you", Iwaizumi snorted. "That goes without saying. I'm proud of you, Tooru. You've come such a long way in just a few days." Oikawa turned around and wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi.  
"I love you so much, you know that?" he whispered.  
"I know. I love you too", Iwaizumi said softly. "And remember, that even if your legs won't work, you are not alone. I will always be there to catch you."


End file.
